Research on passion is burgeoning in the entrepreneurial literature, yet we still know little about what factors drive entrepreneurial passion. Recognizing the socially embedded nature of entrepreneurship, we examine identity-related social forces that may fuel the fire of entrepreneurial passion. Employing a lagged design that controls for known antecedents, we find different pathways driving harmonious versus obsessive entrepreneurial passion. We find that harmonious entrepreneurial passion is fueled by entrepreneurial identity centrality whereas obsessive entrepreneurial passion is fueled by affective interpersonal commitment. Interestingly, gender moderates both these relationships. •A model including identity-related social forces as drivers of passion is proposed.•Harmonious and obsessive entrepreneurial passion emerge along different paths.•These paths differ for men versus women.